Ben Says Olivia's Talent Is Being Beautiful, & That's Not Okay

Up until now, Bachelor Ben Higgins has been the picture of respect, and sweetness. His first night he refrained from kissing anyone because he didn't want to give the women the wrong message, he's given out tokens of affection to some of the girls who didn't get dates, and he's been supportive through many a meltdown. But as close to perfection as Ben seems, he has his moments — like tonight, when he told Olivia that her "talent" was being beautiful.

Yes, we're used to seeing Bachelors and Bachelorettes make their contestants do some silly, cringe-worthy performances in the name of coming out of their shell, and we usually pay them no mind. But as Ben glanced at Olivia's sequin panties before she took the stage, he seemed to forget that Olivia was more than what she would look like in those panties. That's a Juan Pablo move, Ben.

No matter how much you may dislike Olivia, you have to admit that what Ben said in passing really isn't okay. To suggest that a woman's talent is to merely look nice takes us back to the days of when women were supposed to be seen and not heard and I like to think we're far past those. Or at least, Ben Higgins, America's dream man is. Not to mention, Olivia is significantly talented as she is beautiful. The girl was a newscaster for crying out loud before she entered the Bachelor mansion, and that takes some serious training, and confidence to be good at.

Even though Olivia herself proclaimed to have "no talent", it wasn't Ben's job to somewhat justify that by drawing attention to her good looks. There are a million things you could have told her, B.Higs, a million things that wouldn't set back notions of womanhood almost 100 years.

We know that you probably didn't mean it that way Ben, but when you told Olivia that her looks was what she was good at, you reduced her worth to just her looks.

And that's really not a cool thing to do to any woman, even to a Bachelor Nation appointed villain.

Images: ABC/Rick Rowell